Transit group launches campaign for state funds

October 06, 2006|By FROM NEWS SERVICES

In a major campaign to build broad support for increased public transportation funding, the Regional Transportation Authority has recruited more than 280 municipalities, civic organizations and agencies so far to lobby Illinois legislators, officials said Thursday.

"This is the most comprehensive outreach effort that the RTA has ever conducted," Executive Director Steve Schlickman said. "In order to convey the message to the legislature, we have to show them we have the support for what we're trying to do. We have to show them that, yes, everyone wants that world-class transit system that the region deserves."

The list includes dozens of local governments, from Waukegan to Will County, and school districts. Other organizations include labor unions, chambers of commerce, and civic and environmental groups.

Northeastern Illinois transit agencies--including RTA, the CTA, Pace and Metra--face a "critical crossroads" in 2007, at which time additional investment and improvement of the $27 billion transit network must take place, said RTA officials, who presented a progress report on the strategic plan, known as "Moving Beyond Congestion."

The alternative would be "shrinking" the system and a downward spiral of service cuts, increased fares and declining reliability, officials said.

The transit agencies' strategic plan for more funding includes enlisting local governments and organizations on the grass-roots level. At least $163 million per year in additional funding from Springfield will be needed, officials estimated.

The interim report is intended to describe the current status of the RTA system and lay the groundwork for upcoming reports, including a financial analysis of the transit systems. All will be ammunition in the battle for more transportation funding.

The RTA system provides the region with more than $12 billion annually in economic impact and congestion relief as well as substantial non-monetary environmental, mobility and qualify-of-life benefits, the report states.

Yet, the region's traffic congestion is the third worst in the nation, according to the Texas Transportation Institute, and costs the region more than $4 billion in travel delays and excess fuel consumed. The congestion costs the average peak-period traveler $1,000 annually, the report states.

The system faces a large operating and capital shortfall because there have been no new state capital funds for transit since the Illinois FIRST program and because funding has not kept pace with demand.

BROWN LINE LOWDOWN

WHAT'S OPEN, WHAT'S CLOSED

Brown Line train service will run from the Loop to the Western Avenue stop this weekend to allow for planned construction. If weather permits construction work, the Rockwell and Kedzie stations will close at 3 a.m. Saturday and reopen at 10 p.m. Sunday as part of the $530 million Brown Line reconstruction project, the CTA said.

To substitute for rail service between the Western and Kimball stops, the CTA will provide free bus shuttle service.

On another track: Riders boarding at Fullerton should look out for a new station entrance beginning this weekend and expected to be in place for about two years, the CTA said. Beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday, the entrance will be located 80 feet east of the existing opening, the CTA said. Turnstiles and fare card machines as well as the customer assistant booth have been moved accordingly to accommodate construction at the station.